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At CES 2025, Intel made a pivotal announcement, formally unveiling its next-generation Core Ultra 200V Series processors, codenamed “Lunar Lake.” These processors mark Intel’s strategic pivot, which aims to redefine the competitive mobile computing landscape for Intel-based laptops against their ARM-based rivals. Intel previously provided information about the architecture at IFA 2024. This time, the physical processors have been announced, and you can expect to see an avalanche of new laptop updates from your favorite PC builders.

Focus on Power Efficiency and Battery Life

A defining characteristic of the Lunar Lake processors is their emphasis on power efficiency. While incremental CPU performance improvements are present, Intel’s primary objective with this release is to extend battery life significantly. The Series 2 processors should be able to rival ARM-based platforms in this regard, a segment where Intel has faced harsh competition in recent years.

Intel’s internal testing, benchmarked through the Procyon productivity suite, shows promising battery performance metrics, positioning the Lunar Lake V-series as a strong contender against ARM Windows laptops. This shift could help Intel secure ground in the ultra-mobile segment, where battery longevity often dictates purchasing decisions. However, 5G connectivity is an important secondary consideration as well.

Competitive Positioning and Backward Compatibility

The Core Ultra 200V Series launch arrives at a crucial time for Intel. ARM Windows laptops posed a tangible threat to Intel’s historic dominance. However, Lunar Lake’s ability to extend battery life while maintaining the backward compatibility inherent to Intel platforms provides a significant competitive edge.

Backward compatibility remains one of Intel’s most potent differentiators, offering seamless performance across legacy Windows applications and drivers. This aspect remains a stumbling block for ARM-based alternatives, which can experience software friction that deters some users from switching. Intel needed to offer an answer to the battery life, before its ARM competitors could solve the compatibility issues to a “good enough” point.

AI and Graphics Performance Boosts

Beyond CPU power efficiency, Intel has made notable strides in graphics and AI performance. The new processors are engineered to drive the next generation of AI-powered laptops. Equipped with Neural Processing Units (NPUs) that meet Microsoft’s Copilot requirements, these processors position Intel favorably within the burgeoning AI-enhanced PC market.

This AI-forward approach aligns with the broader industry trend of integrating specialized hardware for on-device AI workloads, enabling faster, more responsive computing experiences without relying heavily on cloud infrastructure.

Lineup

Intel’s Core Ultra 200V Series portfolio spans nine distinct SKUs within the Intel Core Ultra 200V Series, catering to a spectrum of performance and price points. PC builders can assess the performance hierarchy by examining core counts, GPU configurations, and cache memory specifications. The power envelope for the Lunar Lake processors ranges from 17W to 37W, offering versatility for ultraportable notebooks and performance-focused designs.

With the launch of the Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) Lunar Lake processors, Intel has responded decisively to the most pressing competitive threats in the mobile computing market. By emphasizing battery life, power efficiency, and AI capabilities, Intel positions itself to address the challenges posed by ARM-based competitors while reinforcing the strengths that have historically underpinned its success. As these processors ship in next-generation laptops, we will see how they perform in real-world scenarios.

Intel Core Ultra 200V Series Redefines Battery Life and AI for Intel Laptops

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

At CES 2025, AMD is launching many new CPUs, and the most interesting ones are the high-end AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D desktop CPU, and the AMD Ryzen AI MAX and MAX Pro for laptops.

The 16-core 9950X3D with 144MB of cache (!!) is a nice addition to the 7950X3D desktop CPU and offers an average 8% additional performance (across 40 games) over the already super-fast 7950X3D, that’s according to numbers supplied by AMD. There’s also a more affordable Ryzen 9 9900X3D with 12 cores, which may have a slightly better performance/price ratio.

We expected independent benchmarks to confirm this positioning. From there, prospective buyers can look at the performance/price ratio, often the endgame for desktop CPUs, since power efficiency is not as important for these users.

The Ryzen AI series is aimed at “AI laptops” powered by Microsoft’s Copilot, which has performance requirements to get into the Copilot club. As a result, AMD introduced the Ryzen AI 300 and Ryzen AI Max processors, the latter being the most interesting as they target creators and higher-end use cases.

These use the latest CPU core design and come with various numbers of CPU and GPU cores to target the desired price points. You can have between 6 and 16 CPU cores and 16 to 40 GPU cores, which is a massive number for AMD products. The AI capabilities are similar for all variants, with 50 TOPS (Trillion operations per second), and that’s a high number, with competitors often showing 13-30 TOPS.

With a TDP of 45-120W, we’ll have to see what kind of chassis these processors will be used in, but that’s not your ultramobile laptop, but more likely various (relatively) light workstations and creative laptops.

AMD touted advantageous internal benchmarks, claiming up to 400% faster Blender rendering than Intel’s Core Ultra 9 288V processor. Overall, the technical specifications and claimed performance are impressive, and this is an excellent technical foundation for upcoming AI laptops and mobile workstations.

The Ryzen AI Max processors series also comes in an AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO variant, referring to AMD’s PRO technologies for enterprises that revolve around various aspects of computer and data security or fleet management.

AMD Dazzles CES Crowd With 9950X3D Desktop CPU and Ryzen AI Max Mobile Processors

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

At CES 2025, AMD is launching many new CPUs, and the most interesting ones are the high-end AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D desktop CPU, and the AMD Ryzen AI MAX and MAX Pro for laptops.

The 16-core 9950X3D with 144MB of cache (!!) is a nice addition to the 7950X3D desktop CPU and offers an average 8% additional performance (across 40 games) over the already super-fast 7950X3D, that’s according to numbers supplied by AMD. There’s also a more affordable Ryzen 9 9900X3D with 12 cores, which may have a slightly better performance/price ratio.

We expected independent benchmarks to confirm this positioning. From there, prospective buyers can look at the performance/price ratio, often the endgame for desktop CPUs, since power efficiency is not as important for these users.

The Ryzen AI series is aimed at “AI laptops” powered by Microsoft’s Copilot, which has performance requirements to get into the Copilot club. As a result, AMD introduced the Ryzen AI 300 and Ryzen AI Max processors, the latter being the most interesting as they target creators and higher-end use cases.

These use the latest CPU core design and come with various numbers of CPU and GPU cores to target the desired price points. You can have between 6 and 16 CPU cores and 16 to 40 GPU cores, which is a massive number for AMD products. The AI capabilities are similar for all variants, with 50 TOPS (Trillion operations per second), and that’s a high number, with competitors often showing 13-30 TOPS.

With a TDP of 45-120W, we’ll have to see what kind of chassis these processors will be used in, but that’s not your ultramobile laptop, but more likely various (relatively) light workstations and creative laptops.

AMD touted advantageous internal benchmarks, claiming up to 400% faster Blender rendering than Intel’s Core Ultra 9 288V processor. Overall, the technical specifications and claimed performance are impressive, and this is an excellent technical foundation for upcoming AI laptops and mobile workstations.

The Ryzen AI Max processors series also comes in an AMD Ryzen AI Max PRO variant, referring to AMD’s PRO technologies for enterprises that revolve around various aspects of computer and data security or fleet management.

AMD Dazzles CES Crowd With 9950X3D Desktop CPU and Ryzen AI Max Mobile Processors

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

At CES 2025, Intel made a pivotal announcement, formally unveiling its next-generation Core Ultra 200V Series processors, codenamed “Lunar Lake.” These processors mark Intel’s strategic pivot, which aims to redefine the competitive mobile computing landscape for Intel-based laptops against their ARM-based rivals. Intel previously provided information about the architecture at IFA 2024. This time, the physical processors have been announced, and you can expect to see an avalanche of new laptop updates from your favorite PC builders.

Focus on Power Efficiency and Battery Life

A defining characteristic of the Lunar Lake processors is their emphasis on power efficiency. While incremental CPU performance improvements are present, Intel’s primary objective with this release is to extend battery life significantly. The Series 2 processors should be able to rival ARM-based platforms in this regard, a segment where Intel has faced harsh competition in recent years.

Intel’s internal testing, benchmarked through the Procyon productivity suite, shows promising battery performance metrics, positioning the Lunar Lake V-series as a strong contender against ARM Windows laptops. This shift could help Intel secure ground in the ultra-mobile segment, where battery longevity often dictates purchasing decisions. However, 5G connectivity is an important secondary consideration as well.

Competitive Positioning and Backward Compatibility

The Core Ultra 200V Series launch arrives at a crucial time for Intel. ARM Windows laptops posed a tangible threat to Intel’s historic dominance. However, Lunar Lake’s ability to extend battery life while maintaining the backward compatibility inherent to Intel platforms provides a significant competitive edge.

Backward compatibility remains one of Intel’s most potent differentiators, offering seamless performance across legacy Windows applications and drivers. This aspect remains a stumbling block for ARM-based alternatives, which can experience software friction that deters some users from switching. Intel needed to offer an answer to the battery life, before its ARM competitors could solve the compatibility issues to a “good enough” point.

AI and Graphics Performance Boosts

Beyond CPU power efficiency, Intel has made notable strides in graphics and AI performance. The new processors are engineered to drive the next generation of AI-powered laptops. Equipped with Neural Processing Units (NPUs) that meet Microsoft’s Copilot requirements, these processors position Intel favorably within the burgeoning AI-enhanced PC market.

This AI-forward approach aligns with the broader industry trend of integrating specialized hardware for on-device AI workloads, enabling faster, more responsive computing experiences without relying heavily on cloud infrastructure.

Lineup

Intel’s Core Ultra 200V Series portfolio spans nine distinct SKUs within the Intel Core Ultra 200V Series, catering to a spectrum of performance and price points. PC builders can assess the performance hierarchy by examining core counts, GPU configurations, and cache memory specifications. The power envelope for the Lunar Lake processors ranges from 17W to 37W, offering versatility for ultraportable notebooks and performance-focused designs.

With the launch of the Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) Lunar Lake processors, Intel has responded decisively to the most pressing competitive threats in the mobile computing market. By emphasizing battery life, power efficiency, and AI capabilities, Intel positions itself to address the challenges posed by ARM-based competitors while reinforcing the strengths that have historically underpinned its success. As these processors ship in next-generation laptops, we will see how they perform in real-world scenarios.

Intel Core Ultra 200V Series Redefines Battery Life and AI for Intel Laptops

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

During CES 2025, I had a chance to check out a demo of the way Google is integrating Gemini capabilities into its smart home platform via devices like the Nest Audio, Nest Hub and Nest Cameras. The main takeaway is that the conversations you have with the Google Assistant will feel more natural. Personally, I’d appreciate being able to ask questions as they pop in my head, without having to formulate some Assistant-friendly sentence before speaking — what I saw makes me feel like my wish could come true. 

To kick things off, you’ll still say “Hey Google,” but for follow-up questions you can skip the prompt and the Assistant will be able to hold on to the thread of your conversation. During the demonstration, held in a simulated (and very posh) kitchen, the Google representative asked things like what to cook with ingredients he had on hand (chicken and spinach). On the Nest Audio, the Assistant rattled off a few recipe ideas (creamy chicken and spinach, chicken and spinach stir fry). 

On the Nest Hub, the rep was able to play a song he didn’t know the name of by asking, “Hey Google, what’s the song from Wicked where they’re dancing in the library?” The Assistant named the song and played it after a follow up prompt. 

Possibly the most impressive trick I saw was the case of the missing cookies. The rep asked the Nest Hub the question, “Hey Google, what happened to the cookies on the counter?” Pulling footage from a connected Nest Cam, the Hub displayed a dog walking into a kitchen, swiping a cookie and scampering off. The Assistant meanwhile narrated the context of the video saying, “A dog jumped on the counter and looked at the cookies on December 12th at 1:29PM.” Of course, this was a pre-recorded clip, as there was sadly no dog in the demonstration kitchen. 

The video analysis adds to tech already available with the Nest Cam, like familiar face recognition and builds on features that were launched in beta last year where you could type questions into the Google Home app, asking things like, “Did my FedEx package get delivered?” The update here is that you’ll be able to ask these things using your voice and see relevant clips on the Hub. 

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to ask questions of my own as both the speaker and display were keyed to the Google rep’s voice. Each question was followed by a one or two second pause as, I assume, the Assistant gathered/synthesized/analyzed the information (or whatever AI does) before answering. Of course, the Assistant can still do all of the basic tasks it always has — set timers and reminders, play music and videos and control smart home routines. The Google reps were sure point out that this isn’t a replacement of the Google Assistant, but an enhancement with Gemini. 

Having used all three of the major smart home assistants fairly extensively, I’ve found the Google Assistant is best at accessing and delivering general information, but Alexa was better at smart home control and understanding me overall (for the record, Siri is best at frustrating me). With this new Gemini integration, the Google Assistant may be in a good position to overtake Alexa in that department.

These Gemini-improved improvements will be coming to Nest Aware subscribers in a public preview later this year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/gemini-ai-smarts-are-coming-to-google-home-to-make-the-assistant-a-better-conversationalist-213644481.html?src=rss